Following their effective 7″ (included here with an additional track), BIG STICK pushes five guitar-oriented songs through a flanger, adds pounding drums, sprinkles demented vocals over the mix — and what results is funny, wild rock that many PERE UBU fans might find agreeable. Interesting.
Unconventional fuzzy guitar licks, industrial grade drumming, and twisted vocal effects highlight this 8-song cassette. Some studio tracks are included, but the live ones really throb.
This band is Todd Congelliers of FYP and TOYS THAT KILL fame, and on bass is Mike Watt. Yes, that Mike Watt, along with multiple drummers. Eight spastic and twisted tunes that are under-produced and dissonant. This is very college rock circa 1990. I like it.
This is the second edition of a collaboration between two San Pedro legends, Mike Watt and Todd Congelliere. Watt contributes his prototypical bass lines and meanderings like the elder Zen advisor, accenting and moving parallel to Congelliere’s guitar work and vocals. Part of the collaboration is to bring in a different drummer for each track, and it’s quite the entourage ranging from old school legends to the local San Pedro scene: Stephan Perkins (JANE’S ADDICTION), Steve Reed (SACCHARINE TRUST), Russell Simins (JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION), Raymond Terrones (A LOVELY SORT OF DEATH), Mindee Jorgenson (MOD PODS), Derek Blook (FROM FIRST TO LAST), Kim Schifino (MATT & KIM), and Ryan Davidson (COMA TWINS). There are elements of Congelliere’s other bands here—the obtuse lyrical delivery of TOYS THAT KILL, the jangly scrappiness of UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TO CANDYLAND, and the humor of F.Y.P. But it’s Watt’s bass playing that gives this band a unique voice different from all the members prior collective projects.
I’d be lying if I said that TOYS THAT KILL didn’t have, and rely on, a dependable, bafflingly sturdy, formulaic style. Todd’s trademarked caterwaul, on top of his manic, monkey-mantra music, all with the same tempo and perfectly planned breaks, sandwiched between Sean’s more adult and smart songwriter-ish punk, gets a slight little twist with every release, and their shit somehow seems to never get stale. I don’t get it. It defies physics, and this little five-banger has left me wanting more, just like everything else they’ve done for the last dozen or so years. It’s still absolutely fucking killer. IRON CHIC, on the other hand, got lost on me. It’s pretty melodic, bearded and tight black t-shirt-clad (I assume), delicately growled type stuff. My appreciation for dude rock is light handed at best, and while you do get a few good whiffs of the ARRIVALS and that GRABASS CHARLESTONS/DALE AND THE CAREENERS LP—which are absolutely stellar examples of the genre, mostly—it just sounded like the rest of the stuff that makes up the majority of this sweet-yet-gruff bro’s handle on the style.
The debut from one of San Pedro’s best, given a cassette reissue for its twentieth anniversary. This album is still as great as it was when it originally came out. Rising from the ashes of the juggernaut that was F.Y.P., TOYS THAT KILL continued down the path of their predecessor by churning out snotty, fun pop punk that could have fit right in with the body of work of the previous band, and while Todd Congelliere’s vocals are unmistakable, it’s the addition of Sean Cole splitting up the vocal duties that really adds that extra element needed to not just write off this record as a new F.Y.P. album. Though twenty years have passed since this originally was released, it still sounds fresh, which is a feat especially when you consider the musical landscape twenty years ago—the mark of not only a great album, but a great band. If this album is not already in your collection and you’re down with cassettes, go get a copy now and hurry, because it’s limited to only 100 copies!
